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BackgroundA system for managing chronic disease including diabetes mellitus based on primary care clinics has been used in Korea since April 2012. This system can reduce copayments for patients that are managed by a single primary-care provider and lead to improve continuity of care. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is an association between continuity of care for outpatients and hospital admission and identify the continuity index that best explains hospital admissions for patients with type 2 diabetes.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study using 2009 National Health Insurance Sample (NHIS) from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Services (HIRA) of Korea. The dependent variable was hospital admission due to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Continuity of care was measured using the Usual Provider Care index (UPC), Continuity of Care index (COC), Sequential Continuity of Care index (SECON), and Integrated Continuity of Care index (ICOC).ResultsPatients with low COC scores (<0.75) were more likely to be hospitalized [odds ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 2.17–2.75] compared with the reference group (COC ≥0.75), after adjusting for all covariates. we calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for each index to find which index had the greatest explanatory ability for hospital admission. The AUROC of the COC was the greatest (0.598), but the AUROC curves for the UPC (0.597), SECON (0.593), and ICOC (0.597) were similar.ConclusionsHigh continuity of care may reduce the likelihood for hospital admission. The COC had marginally more explanatory power.

BackgroundsAn outbreak of lung injury among South Korean adults was examined in a hospital-based case-control study, and the suspected cause was exposure to humidifier disinfectant (HD). However, a case-control study with community-dwelling controls was needed to validate the previous study’s findings, and to confirm the exposure-response relationship between HD and lung injury.MethodsEach case of lung injury was matched with four community-dwelling controls, according to age (±3 years), sex, residence, and history of childbirth since 2006 (for women). Environmental risk factors, which included type and use of humidifier and HD, were investigated using a structured questionnaire during August 2011. The exposure to HD was calculated for both cases and controls, and the corresponding risks of lung injury were compared.ResultsAmong 28 eligible cases, 16 patients agreed to participate, and 60 matched controls were considered eligible for this study. The cases were more likely to have been exposed to HD (odds ratio: 116.1, 95% confidence interval: 6.5–2,063.7). All cases were exposed to HDs containing polyhexamethyleneguanidine phosphate, and the risk of lung injury increased with the cumulative exposure, duration of exposure, and exposure per day.ConclusionsThis study revealed a statistically significant exposure-response relationship between HD and lung injury. Therefore, continuous monitoring and stricter evaluation of environmental chemicals’ safety should be conducted.

Background and AimsThis study aims to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a one-time hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening and treatment program in South Korea where hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevails, in people aged 40–70, compared to current practice (no screening).MethodsA published Markov model was used in conjunction with a screening and treatment decision tree to model patient cohorts, aged 40–49, 50–59 and 60–69 years, distributed across chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and compensated cirrhosis (CC) health states (82.5% and 17.5%, respectively). Based on a published seroepidemiology study, HCV prevalence was estimated at 0.60%, 0.80% and 1.53%, respectively. An estimated 71.7% of the population was screened. Post-diagnosis, 39.4% of patients were treated with a newly available all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimen over 5 years. Published rates of sustained virologic response, disease management costs, transition rates and utilities were utilised.ResultsScreening resulted in the identification of 43,635 previously undiagnosed patients across all cohorts. One-time HCV screening and treatment was estimated to be cost-effective across all cohorts; predicted incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranged from $5,714 to $8,889 per quality-adjusted life year gained. Incremental costs associated with screening, treatment and disease management ranged from $156.47 to $181.85 million USD; lifetime costs-offsets associated with the avoidance of end stage liver disease complications ranged from $51.47 to $57.48 million USD.ConclusionsOne-time HCV screening and treatment in South Korean people aged 40–70 is likely to be highly cost-effective compared to the current practice of no screening.